A former Trump staffer is being sued for allegedly pulling a gun on his colleague

This is officially Second Amendment week in the Donald Trump campaign.

A lawsuit filed in North Carolina on Wednesday alleges that the campaign’s former North Carolina director, Earl Phillip randomly pulled a gun on a lower-level staffer, and that then-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski did nothing when the incident was brought to his attention.

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., and Phillip are named in the suit.

The lawsuit, which was first reported by North Carolina’s WBTV, says that the alleged incident took place while Trump campaign staffer Vincent Bordini was driving in a car with Phillip.

“Phillip was driving and Vincent was in the passenger seat. Phillip produced a pistol, put his right index finger on the trigger, and drove the barrel into Vincent’s kneecap,” the suit alleges. No clear reason for why this apparently happened is given.

Vincent then shared his experience with other staffers, including Lewandowski—who now works at CNN—and nothing happened, the suit alleges.

At least four other people allegedly told Vincent that Phillip had pulled a gun on them.

“Vincent was a passionate Donald J. Trump supporter. He decided that putting his head down and soldiering on was the best thing that he could do for Mr. Trump,” the suit reads. “He had faith that the Trump Campaign would handle the situation internally. But as time went on it became apparent that nothing was going to happen.”

The suit is requesting a trial by jury, and is bringing charges of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and one charge specifically lobbed at the Trump campaign: negligent retention and supervision.

The incident is the latest in a fast growing list of violence-related controversies that the Trump campaign has faced. Notoriously, Lewandowski was arrested and charged with simple battery in March after he manhandled a reporter who was trying to ask Trump questions at a Florida campaign event. Prosecutors later dropped the charges. In July, a Trump adviser suggested that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton “should be put in the firing line and shot for treason.” And just this week, Trump said that “Second Amendment people” might be able to do something to stop Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s Supreme Court picks, which many people took as a coded discussion of her potential assassination. (Trump vehemently disagreed with this interpretation.)

The Trump campaign didn’t immediately return a request for comment. Phillips, who was replaced as the North Carolina state director last week, has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

Daniel Rivero is a producer/reporter for Fusion who focuses on police and justice issues. He also skateboards, does a bunch of arts related things on his off time, and likes Cuban coffee.

 
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